First book of the Year.
Jan. 1st, 2012 07:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fjmMargo Lanagan's Sea Hearts or, in the UK, The Brides of Rollrock Island. I have no idea why they changed the name for the UK. I much prefer the other title if for no other reason than someone in the marketing department never thought to actually read the UK title aloud. Or if they did, they are possessed of perfectly rolled French rrrrrs. When I try to say it I have a "Woy" Jenkins moment.
Onto the book: The island in question is, by the time the book opens, all male. There are brides on the island but there is something strange about them. The only true woman on the island is elderly and embittered. The boys of the island are a little odd but they love their Mams: they would do anything to make their Mams happy.
This is an island where men really got what they wished for, perfect, obedient, submissive wives. The unravelling consequences of this classic fairy tale structure is harsh and bitter, but this is a tale told with the gentleness of "Singing My Sister Down".
Onto the book: The island in question is, by the time the book opens, all male. There are brides on the island but there is something strange about them. The only true woman on the island is elderly and embittered. The boys of the island are a little odd but they love their Mams: they would do anything to make their Mams happy.
This is an island where men really got what they wished for, perfect, obedient, submissive wives. The unravelling consequences of this classic fairy tale structure is harsh and bitter, but this is a tale told with the gentleness of "Singing My Sister Down".
